Ashley Schoenith: Apron Parties and Oprah

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After 18 years in business, Ashley Schoenith is no stranger to change. Her company has gone through multiple iterations and even a name change, but one thing remains the same: her mission to keep family heirlooms around for the next generation

Ashley is the founder of Heirloomed, a textile company and lifestyle brand. As a self-proclaimed old soul, she has a deep-rooted passion for preserving the past. Her design aesthetic is heavily influenced by the details by craftsmanship of vintage goods.

This conversation is full of so many great takeaways – we talked about everything from marketing and cash flow planning, and how to let your business evolve while staying true to your brand.

Press play for the full interview with Ashley or keep reading below!

Apron Parties and Oprah

Heirloomed began as a way for Ashley to spend time with her grandmother back in 2006. Whenever Ashley visited home, the pair sewed aprons together at her kitchen table. “I always tell everyone I started backward. I never intended to start a business.”

Ashley hosted brunch parties with other women where she would sell the aprons they made. Her day job working for a branding agency meant she knew how to market the events, and it wasn’t long before a young editor asked to pitch her story to Oprah magazine.

To Ashley’s surprise, Oprah not only picked up the story but ran a six-page spread. Unsurprisingly, they sold out of aprons within an hour!

Letting the Business Change

Ashley moved into a consulting role for the branding agency before transitioning full-time to the apron business. Now a mom of three, she says the flexibility of working for herself has been invaluable.

Since starting in 2006, the business has grown and gone through multiple iterations. “The brand has grown up with me and changed as a result of that.”

Like me, Ashley loves setting goals! She creates a 5-year plan but constantly reassesses to see if that’s still aligned with where she wants to go. For example, traveling more often could help the business grow, but it would also affect her lifestyle and time with her kids.

Community is Your Business Gold

The one thing that hasn’t changed is Heirloomed’s focus on community. Ashley’s customers regularly send her stories and photos of her pieces, telling her what the products mean to them.

“To me, the win is the people that stick around and the relationships we create along the way. That’s business gold.”

A Layered Approach to Growth

Ashley takes what she calls a layered approach to growth – focusing on one key area at a time. That could be the wholesale side of the business, licensing partners, or in this season, promoting her new cookbook, The Heirloomed Kitchen.

“I love to weave things together and see the threads come together,” she says. Instead of spreading herself thin, she can go all in on one idea. If you want to try a similar approach, start with the area or project that will have the biggest impact on your business!

Staying True to Your Brand

The biggest lesson Ashley has learned is to always stay true to her brand. Her least successful products have always been the result of trying to please other people – but when she sticks to her vision, those products sell best.

Especially as an inventory-based business, Ashley says it’s important to move on when something isn’t working. Don’t keep sinking costs into something in the hopes it will get better.

“Don’t let anyone tell you what your brand should be. You need to lead your brand. Never change your prices or products to fit what someone else needs, because it won’t serve you long-term.”

The Cash Flow Plan

Managing cash flow for a product-based business can be difficult. At Heirloomed, Ashley says having a plan makes all the difference.

Over time, she’s honed in on production timelines, launch metrics, and sales goals. With those numbers in mind, she can work backward to plan their cash flow. A clear process is much less stressful than throwing spaghetti at the wall.

If you need help planning your cash flow, check out The Blueprint Model, my finance course for entrepreneurs! You’ll learn how to set sales goals, pay yourself regularly, and create a profitable money plan for your business.

Lessons Learned from 18 Years of Online Marketing

After 18 years in business, I had to ask Ashley her thoughts on marketing…there have been so many changes in the last few years alone that I was curious how her approach has shifted.

Her answer was refreshingly simple: “You have to figure out the direction that resonates with you and stays true to your values.”

Marketing platforms are always changing and while it’s important to be open to new opportunities, you also need to take the right path for your business – not anyone else’s. When a new platform comes along, Ashley likes to ask: “How can we be relevant on this platform or leverage it to reach our customers?”

Balancing Business Ambition with Family Time

“I don’t know what balance is,” Ashley says, “I just want to be there for my family.”

To stay organized at Heirloomed, Ashley has a highly structured game plan for marketing and day-to-day operations. “As a small business, you can run yourself crazy. I never get through my to-do list, so I just have my top four bullets and every morning I move the next four to the top.”

Lastly, Ashley (like so many of our guests!) stresses the importance of giving yourself grace. “If we put out one ugly tea towel, no one cares. If we miss an email, I’m probably the only person who noticed.”

Jump in and Don’t Look Back

Looking back almost 20 years to the version of herself that was sewing aprons at the kitchen table, Ashley says she would tell herself: “Jump in. You don’t have to know all the things. The best learning is hands-on, learning from other people, and learning by doing.”

More from this Episode

To hear the full story and more about Ashley, press play on the player above for the full interview or click here to download the transcript.

Grab a copy of Ashley’s Cookbook

Ashley’s feature on Oprah

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Ashley Schoenith

As a self-proclaimed Old Soul, Ashley Schoenith has a deep-rooted passion for the nostalgia of things from the past and keeping their story alive. On a mission to keep family heirlooms around for the next generation, she has a honed design aesthetic heavily influenced from the details & craftsmanship she finds in vintage goods, apparent in her surface patterns, textile design and product work.

As a nod to her long-time line of home & kitchen textiles and her quest to preserve her own family recipes, she recently published a cookbook, The Heirloomed Kitchen, on shelves now. And, a new interiors collection of fabric, wallpaper & cushions filled with timeless patterns for your collected home.

A longtime lover of sourcing vintage, she enjoys spending time in Atlanta with her husband Shane, three young children Wyatt, Sawyer & Waylon and their pup, Mae.

CONNECT WITH ASHLEY:

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